March 21, 2011 | Business Wire, Inc.

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)– New York Life Insurance Company announced today it will donate $100,000 to the relief efforts in Japan.

Ted Mathas, chairman and CEO of New York Life, said, “On behalf of the entire New York Life family, we extend our heartfelt sympathy to all those affected by the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The families caught in the disaster area and the rescue workers who are working valiantly to save lives have been in our thoughts and prayers since we learned of this tragic event. Accordingly, the company will be making a contribution to help alleviate some of the suffering and to help the Japanese people begin to recover from this disaster.”

Mr. Mathas said that New York Life will immediately donate $100,000 to the American Red Cross to support relief efforts in Japan.

New York Life Insurance Company, a Fortune 100 company founded in 1845, is the largest mutual life insurance company in the United States* and one of the largest life insurers in the world. New York Life has the highest possible financial strength ratings from all four of the major credit rating agencies. Headquartered in New York City, New York Life’s family of companies offers life insurance, retirement income, investments and long-term care insurance. New York Life Investments** provides institutional asset management and retirement plan services. Other New York Life affiliates provide an array of securities products and services, as well as institutional and retail mutual funds. Please visit New York Life’s Web site at www.newyorklife.com for more information.

*New York Life is the largest mutual life insurance company based on the Fortune 500, ranked within industries, Insurance: Life, Health (Mutual), Fortune magazine, May 3, 2010.

**New York Life Investments is a service mark used by New York Life Investment Management Holdings LLC and its subsidiary, New York Life Investment Management LLC.

New York Life
Terri Wolcott, 212-576-5624
Theresa_M_Wolcott@newyorklife.com
or
Sloane & Company
John Hartz, 857-598-4779
JHartz@sloanepr.com

COLUMBIA, S.C., Feb. 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ – Heart and vascular conditions account for more than half of all claims paid on Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company’s critical illness insurance policies.

Critical illness insurance pays a set amount to insured people when they’re diagnosed with or suffer heart attacks, cancer, strokes, coronary artery bypass surgery, major organ failure, transplants or other specified major medical conditions.

According to Colonial Life claims statistics, heart attacks, stroke and coronary artery bypass surgery together made up 58 percent of critical illness claims in 2010. Cancer accounted for another 35 percent. Other conditions, including kidney failure and transplants, were responsible for the remaining claims.

“National Heart Month in February is a perfect reminder to think about whether you have enough insurance protection for a critical illness such as a heart attack,” says Randy Finn, assistant vice president, product development for Colonial Life. “Not only can these illnesses can be extremely expensive to treat, there are often significant nonmedical expenses, so even employees with good major medical coverage may be left with large bills unpaid.”

Voluntary critical illness plans pay benefits directly to the insured individuals, unless they specify otherwise. They can then use the money for nonmedical expenses — such as mortgages, groceries, electric bills, child care, or travel to and from a treatment center — or for uncovered medical expenses, including deductibles, treatment bills, rehabilitation or home health care expenses.

Without adequate protection, people who suffer a heart attack or stroke, or undergo coronary artery bypass surgery, might have to use their savings or rely on the financial aid of family members to cover their expenses. In fact, nearly a third of Americans report their family has had problems paying medical bills, with 18 percent reporting bills in excess of $1,000.(1)

“A critical illness plan is for survivors,” Finn says. “Some people may never be able to return to their old lifestyle, go back to the same jobs or return to work at all. Instead, they’ll face a new way of life focused on recuperation, recovery and rehabilitation. Benefits from a critical illness plan can help ease financial worries so they can focus on getting well instead of paying the bills.”

Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company is a market leader in providing insurance benefits for employees and their families through the workplace, along with individual benefits education, advanced yet simple-to-use enrollment technology and quality personal service. Colonial Life offers disability, life and supplemental accident and health insurance policies in 49 states and the District of Columbia. Similar policies, if approved, are underwritten in New York by a Colonial Life affiliate, The Paul Revere Life Insurance Company, Worcester, Mass. Colonial Life is based in Columbia, S.C., and is a subsidiary of Unum Group, one of the world’s leading providers of employee benefits. For more information about benefits communication, call Colonial Life at (803) 798-7000 or visit www.coloniallife.com.

(1) Kaiser Tracking Poll, 2008, Kaiser Family Foundation.

SOURCE Colonial Life

Back to top

RELATED LINKS
http://www.coloniallife.com

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa–(BUSINESS WIRE)– FBL Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: FFG) today announced that Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has assigned ‘A-’ financial strength ratings to its subsidiaries Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company and EquiTrust Life Insurance Company. At the same time, Standard & Poor’s assigned a BBB- counterparty credit rating to FBL Financial Group, Inc. The outlooks are Stable.

“The ratings provided by Standard & Poor’s are another form of external validation of our financial strength and the continued progress we have made as an organization,” saidJames E. Hohmann, FBL’s Chief Executive Officer.

According to Standard & Poor’s, the ratings reflect Farm Bureau Life and EquiTrust Life’s strong competitive position in their target markets as well as strong and improving operating performance.

FBL Financial Group is a holding company whose primary operating subsidiaries are Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company and EquiTrust Life Insurance Company. FBL Financial Group underwrites, markets and distributes life insurance, annuities and mutual funds to individuals and small businesses. In addition, FBL Financial Group manages all aspects of two Farm Bureau affiliated property-casualty insurance companies for a management fee. For more information, please visit www.fblfinancial.com.

FFG-1

FBL Financial Group, Inc.
Kathleen Till Stange, Investor Relations Vice President
515-226-6780, Kathleen.TillStange@FBLFinancial.com

Source: FBL Financial Group, Inc.

BERKELEY, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Hagens Berman Sobal Shapiro LLP, an investor-rights law firm, is progressing in its investigation involving Life Partners Holdings, Inc.(NASDAQ GS:LPHI) shares and insurance policies.

Shareholders who purchased LPHI stock between May 29, 2007 and January 20, 2011(the “Class Period”) or investors who purchased LPHI policies are encouraged to call Hagens Berman partner Reed R. Kathrein at 510-725-3000 for a personal consultation, or contact the Hagens Berman legal team at LPHI@hbsslaw.com.

“Our investigation has uncovered new information that support concern that Life Partners Holdings may have deceitfully profited from innocent investors,” said Mr. Kathrein. “As our investigation advances, we look forward to speaking with witnesses who can provide more details about these claims.”

On January 20, Life Partners Holdings Inc. confirmed in a company press release that federal regulators were investigating the insurance company. The company’s confirmation followed The Wall Street Journal article entitled, “SEC Probes Company Over Life-Span Data,” which reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission was looking into the way the company estimates the life expectancies of insured individuals.

In an earlier story published on December 21, 2010, The Wall Street Journal had also questioned the company’s life expectancy projections. The article, “Odds Skew Against Investors in Bets on Strangers’ Lives,” indicated that Life Partners Holdings, Inc. may have “made large fees from its life-insurance transactions while often significantly underestimating the life expectancies of people whose policies its customers invest in.”

Life Partners Holdings, Inc., a Waco, Texas company, is engaged in the secondary market for life insurance, commonly called “life settlements.” Life Partners Holdings, Inc.helps investors buy life insurance policies of terminally ill patients and the elderly at a discount of the policies’ face value.

Hagens Berman seeks information regarding questions raised by The Wall Street Journalsurrounding the accuracy of the methodology used by Life Partners Holdings, Inc. for its life-expectancy projections. The projections are important because the company can charge investors more for policies that have shorter life expectancies, and therefore faster payouts. If the insured individual’s death comes later than estimated, the payout is delayed and investors must continue paying premiums, reducing their eventual returns.

According to news reports, Life Partners Holdings, Inc. uses a single physician based inReno, Nev. to provide its life-expectancy estimates. An actuary interviewed by The Wall Street Journal stated that he had reviewed this physician’s work five years ago and had concluded that the Reno –based physician was using an “unrealistic” approach that tended to produce inaccurately short life expectancies. Hagens Berman welcomes any information regarding actual experience with the policies and their performance by investors, agents or policyholders.

Shares of LPHI dipped by $2.61, or about 17 percent, to $12.43 after Life Partners Holding, Inc confirmed the SEC investigation and The Wall Street Journal article. Today the stock trades for less than $10 per share. In December 2010, and prior to news articles from The Wall Street Journal, the LPHI stock traded as high as $18.34.

More details of the investigation can be found at http://www.hbsslaw.com/LPHI.

About Hagens Berman

Seattle-based Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP is an investor-rights class action law firm and represents whistle-blowers in cases under the federal False Claims Act and state false claims acts. The firm also specializes in Wall Street Reform Whistleblower litigation. Hagens Berman has offices in Boston, Chicago, Colorado Springs, Los Angeles, Phoenix,San Francisco and Washington, D.C. Founded in 1993, HBSS continues to successfully fight for investor rights in large, complex litigation. More about the law firm and its successes can be found at www.hbsslaw.com. Visit the firm’s securities blog athttp://www.meaningfuldisclosure.com.

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Financial Communications Society has named MetLife the 2010 Financial Marketer of the Year for the success of its “Straight Story on Life Insurance” campaign. The award recognizes the financial services marketing program that drove outstanding business results in 2010.

The FCS award highlights MetLife’s industry-leading position in identifying and addressing the critical questions consumers face when purchasing life insurance. Every year, half of all middle-market Americans say they plan to buy life insurance. However, only a small fraction get past concerns about how much insurance they need, cost, sales pressure and other worries to actually buy a policy.

MetLife created new online tools and content to educate consumers, and aligned both traditional and online marketing to draw consumers into a new, low-pressure and user-friendly buying experience. Focusing on MetLife.com, the company developed an integrated program to guide the customers’ journey, from research to purchase, and fuel the new direct sales channel.

“Providing helpful tools, clear information and a simple purchase process online made it easier for consumers to find and buy the products they need,” said Beth Hirschhorn, Chief Marketing Officer at MetLife. “This initiative succeeded in increasing brand preference, response rates, leads, and most importantly, sales.”

MetLife and primary project partner Neo@Ogilvy, along with Y&R and MEC, created and optimized online and traditional marketing programs, including banner and television ads, online video, search engine marketing, and social media.

“MetLife drove outstanding business results by connecting a strong brand with the rigor of performance marketing,” said Sean Muzzy, Managing Director, North America at Neo@Ogilvy. “This is truly a case where our ability to deliver superior results was fueled by a brand that is honestly committed to helping consumers make smarter choices.”

The award will be presented to Beth Hirschhorn at a gala luncheon sponsored by CNBC at the New York Yacht Club on January 27, 2011.

About MetLife

MetLife, Inc. is a leading global provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs, serving 90 million customers in over 60 countries. Through its subsidiaries and affiliates, MetLife holds leading market positions in the United States, Japan, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East. For more information, visit www.metlife.com.

BINGHAMTON, N.Y., Jan. 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Many term life insurance buyers who seek coverage to meet a singular need often overpay for their insurance.  This term buyer overpays because he or she must pick a lump sum death benefit that will cover the specific financial obligation if he or she were to die soon after obtaining coverage.  As time goes by, the original lump sum may exceed what is necessary to cover the remaining obligation.  Thus, monthly benefit term may be less expensive than lump sum coverage because the buyer can design the policy around his or her specific needs.

Security Mutual recently introduced a new term insurance product that helps provide this type of buyer with a solution:  a term insurance product that pays death benefits monthly, rather than in a lump sum.  This new product offers coverage for whatever number of years best suits the needs of the particular client.  Monthly benefits range from a minimum of $1,000 per month to a maximum of $50,000 a month.  The minimum term is 15 years, and the maximum term is the lesser of 40 years (35 for smokers) or 85 minus the issue age.  By way of example, if an insured under a 20-year $2,000/monthly benefit life policy were to die 132 months after issue date, the policy beneficiary would receive $2,000 a month for the next 108 months (9 years)—the balance of the term (11 years).

Monthly benefit term can work well in many contexts.  For example, a homeowner who would like to cover a mortgage obligation can select a term that matches the years remaining on the mortgage.  A parent with young children can select a term that is tied to the year that his or her youngest child is expected to graduate from college.  An individual who is concluding a divorce can select a term that matches his or her obligation to pay alimony or property settlement installments.

About Security Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York:  Security Mutual was founded in 1886.  Today it is one of the leading mutual life insurance companies in the United States.  It does business in all 50 states.  Security Mutual Life is rated “A-” (Excellent) by the A.M. Best Co., the oldest and largest company devoted to issuing financial strength ratings of insurance companies.  A.M. Best rating is current as of the date of publication.  Ratings reflect a rating agency’s opinion of a company’s financial strength and ability to meet its obligations to its policyholders.  A rating is not a recommendation of a company or any specific policy form.  A.M. Best’s “A-” (Excellent) rating is the fourth highest on a 15-step rating scale.  Ratings are subject to change.

Policy Form Nos. 2107-NY, 2107-C-NY, Series 2107 & 2107-C.  The hypothetical example contained herein is for illustrative purposes only and does not guarantee or predict the results of this product.  The example does not take into account the investment objectives, financial situation or particular needs of a specific person.  Product availability and features may vary by state.  Contact a Security Mutual Life representative for state availability.

SOURCE Security Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York

ROSELAND, N.J.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Crump Life Insurance Services will be the host for “A Celebration of Love: Happy Valentine’s Day!” producer webinar on February 9, 2011 at 3:00 pm ET, which will take a unique approach to identifying long term care insurance sales opportunities. Producers looking to expand their market and learn how to better target women as customers should attend this webinar.

Crump has partnered with The Genworth Financial companies to bring you Holly Buchanan, speaker and co-author of “The Soccer Mom Myth: Today’s Female Consumer, Who She Really Is, Why She Really Buys”, and author of a Marketing to Women Online blog. Holly will lead a discussion on women as caregivers and the need for their own Long Term Care insurance policies. Holly brings her knowledge of long term caring and her keen insight into today’s female consumer to this call. Holly will look at the differences in how men and women buy Long Term Care insurance so producers can do a better job of working not only with women, but also with couples. She shows insurance producers how to market Long Term Care insurance to this overlooked but important market in a way that speaks the right language to resonate with these clients.

Ron Seilback, Vice President, Crump LTC Solution Center, encourages producers to attend, adding: “Holly has proven to be one of our most interesting and informed guest speakers with a unique understanding of female consumers. Combine this with her comprehensive understanding of long term care needs, and producers will find that Holly ‘peels back’ the stereotypical view of women and reveals the secret to successful marketing campaigns that appeal to their need for Long Term Care insurance.”

To register for this, or one of Crump’s many other producer webinars, please visit the Crump Learn & Earn Webinar site at https://crump.webex.com/crump/onstage/g.php?p=0&t=m or sign up for a test drive of the Crump producer website at www.crumplifeinsurance.com.

About Crump Life Insurance Services

Crump Life Insurance Services is part of Crump Group, Inc., the largest wholesale insurance distributor in the United States and, through its Ascensus division, the nation’s largest independent provider of recordkeeping and support services to company-sponsored retirement plans in the micro to large segments of the market. Crump Life is a prominent independent wholesale distributor of life insurance, linking a national network of approximately 200,000 financial services professionals with the products manufactured by approximately 100 highly rated insurance companies.

Crump supports the distribution of traditional and variable life, long-term care, disability, annuity products and life settlements with the industry’s premier sales and back-office support services.

Crump’s technology-driven insurance distribution solutions are among the insurance brokerage industry’s most advanced, including Internet-based capabilities and a leading edge administration system to support all aspects of processing with multiple insurance companies. Crump Life Insurance Services includes the following brands: Crump Life Institutional Group, Crump Potomac Affluent Markets , RiskRighter^SM , Tellus Brokerage Connections and TIME Financial.

Learn more about what Crump Life Insurance Services has to offer by visiting the Crump Life Insurance Services website.

About Genworth Financial

Genworth Financial, Inc. (NYSE: GNW) is a leading Fortune 500 global financial security company. Genworth has more than $100 billion in assets and employs approximately 6,000 people with a presence in more than 25 countries. Its products and services help meet the investment, protection, retirement and lifestyle needs of more than 15 million customers. Genworth operates through three segments: Retirement & Protection, US Mortgage Insurance and International. Its products and services are offered through financial intermediaries, advisors, independent distributors and sale specialists. Genworth Financial, which traces its roots back to 1871, became a public company in 2004 and is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia.